What are some good strategies and techniques, such as 21st century tools, that I can use to help keep my students engaged, while teaching the standards?

Some tools and strategies that I have learned about in all of my classes this semester are e-readers, group projects, group discussions, mini lessons, computers, video recorders and Smartboards. By having these tools and strategies, I can keep my students engaged in the curiculum while I teach. I can use these to help my lessons become more enjoyable. One thing I takeaway from ECI 430 is the article by Peterson. I liked his idea about "in context" language and he gives great ideas how we can incorporate this in our students learning. He says we need to build our lesson around what our students need to learn. This is a strategy that is very helpful and that I will use.